Leonids Meteor Shower

Every november observers can expect peaks of 10 to 15 meteors an hour.

Leonids meteor shower. The leonids ˈ l iː ən ɪ d z lee ə nidz are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet tempel tuttle which are also known for their spectacular meteor storms that occur about every 33 years. The shower is called leonids because its radiant or the point in the sky where the meteors seem to emerge from lies in the constellation leo. Many years the leonids are one of the best meteor showers skywatchers can catch.

Thousands of meteors per minute fell through earth s atmosphere during a 15 minute period. The leonid shower is known for producing meteor storms though. A meteor shower in august 1583 was recorded in the timbuktu manuscripts.

The leonids get their name from the location of their radiant in the constellation leo. The meteors appear to radiate from that point in the sky their proper greek name should be. One estimate is a peak rate of over one hundred thousand meteors an hour but another done as the storm abated estimated in excess of two hundred thousand meteors during the 9 hours of storm over the entire region of north america east of.

The first great meteor storm in the modern era was the leonids of november 1833. The last leonid meteor storm took place in 2002. There were so many meteors seen that they appeared to fall like rain.

The leonid meteor shower is annually active in the month of november and it usually peaks around november 17 or 18.